Onion Confit

[fifi]

I found the whole thing odd. I will agree with Marlene that the bacon seemed to lead the onions astray. It was like the sum was much less than the parts. The reason that I think it was odd is that the bacon and onion work well together in Green Beans (Southern Style) that I developed some time ago. That calls for slow caramelization of the onions with the bacon as well. (Well, not as slow as crock pot confit.)

Anyway... Back to EVOO and butter. I am actually throwing this batch out and starting over since I have a friend that I need to gift with a jar of this.

[Marlene]

Don't forget the demi-glace and the sherry

[fifi]

Ack! I almost forgot about the sherry. Thanks.

Uh oh... I am out of beef demi glace but I do have chicken demi glace from that last killer batch of stock I made. That will have to do. I am thinking that would be better than using the "Better Than Bouillion" jar stuff.

Off to the store.

[Marlene]

Hmmm chicken demi glace. May give it a whole new taste. I'll be interested in hearing how it tasted

[woodburner]

I agree fifi. I like my second batch without bacon much better than the first batch when I used bacon in it.

I better have my taste sensors checked.

woodburner

[hillvalley]

I spent the weekend making my first batch loosely following woodburner's method. I did half and half evoo & butter. I used two large and one medium onion. No bay leaf, thyme, shallots, etc. I also added about a dozen peppercorns at various times throughout the process.

It ended up delicious, but dare I say it, too sweet. It's like eating candied onions. While that is not necessarily bad, it's not what I expected. I will definitely cut down on the sugar. What's the smallest amount I could get away with.

The problem I encountered was that at some point in the night my oven shut itself off. That's what I get for sleeping. I guess the oven turning itself off is a good thing, but not when making confit.

I ended up boiling it down for about 40 minutes. Having never seen onion confit in person, I stopped when I thought it was done.

I took a ton of pics, but these are the highlights:

The onions before cooking

The onions 26 hours later

Going into the oven

18 hours later

21 hours later

The finished confit

[woodburner]

Color looks fine.

This is how mine looked spread on a few slices of french bread.

I'm sure someone can suggest an addition, to cut back on the sweetness, my guess would be to add something tart.

So far fifi, marlene, and now hillvalley, are off my christmas list. Anybody else care to join?

woodburner

[hillvalley]

As far as I'm concerned, the bacon took the onions down the wrong path - so to speak I was just not happy with the taste, whereas the second time the confit was outstanding!

I wonder if using panchetta would make a difference?

[fifi]

I didn't add any sugar (either try) and I ended up with just the right balance of sweetness to onionness, at least to me. I did start with strong white onions because they cook up sweeter. (See SSB discussion up-thread.)

I am not sure pancetta wouldn't just do the same thing that the bacon did. Remember, I didn't say it was bad, it just wasn't as good as the version without the meat. (It did have demi glace so that argument may make no sense at all.) Anyway... I am going back to the original.

[SethG]

Confit!

Thanks to all of you for this recipe. It was my new crock pot's maiden voyage. I used about 3 pounds onions; half a stick of butter; 1/4 cup EVOO, 3 tablespoons of cheap port, and five or six ice cubes of reduced beef stock I made a couple weeks ago. I cranked the pot up to high at midnight last night and never looked back. It was done late this morning, reduced to about a pint of onions with little liquid left in the pot.

I have mixed feelings about the use of beef stock/demi glace. On the one hand, the beefy flavor it imparts makes the confit less versatile. I don't know if I would use these onions for an alsatian tart or with pork chops.

On the other hand, the aroma that filled my Brooklyn apartment today was out of this world. I took my daughter to preschool in the morning, a fifteen minute walk from our place, and I swear I could still smell that confit cooking when we arrived at her school.

And on bread... I can't describe it. Really good.

Edited to add the port.

Edited March 9, 2004 by SethG (log)

[woodburner]

And on bread... I can't describe it. Really good.

Great picture and perfect interlude, Seth.

Your daughter will have wonderful childhood memories of those aroma's.

My daughter, now just about 20, and living many miles away, still has vived memories of walking into my favorite smoked sausage spot when she was about 6 yrs old.

Now when she visits, the normal request is to procure some of those sausages, so that homeward bound, the memories live on.

woodburner

[bloviatrix]

It ended up delicious, but dare I say it, too sweet.  It's like eating candied onions.  While that is not necessarily bad, it's not what I expected.  I will definitely cut down on the sugar.  What's the smallest amount I could get away with.

I would try adding a bit of red wine or sherry vinegar to the confit. The acidity should be a good counterbalance to the sweetness.

Edited March 9, 2004 by bloviatrix (log)

[s'kat]

Those are some great looking pictures folks!

I, alas, still have yet to try my confit. In fact, I never got to pop home at lunch, so my husband took care of turning it off, cooling, and storing it.

Yesterday evening, I was whisked off to a wine tasting, then dinner, so it was 9PM before I could finally take a peek at the confit. I was too full to even try a little taste of it, but the house sure smelled good.

It wasn't as dark as I would have hoped, and doesn't look to have that marmalade-like consistency. It should have gone a little bit longer:

It's chilly and windy today, so I'm thinking of following Marlene's lead, and making a nice little batch of French onion soup tonight.

[DRColby]

This is how mine looked spread on a few slices of french bread.

I'm sure someone can suggest an addition, to cut back on the sweetness, my guess would be to add something tart.

What's between the confit and French bread? I have all the rest of the ingredients which looks like a great meal for tonight.

Thanks,

dave

[fifi]

I am starting yet another batch.

6 big white onions

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup EVOO

1/2 cup chicken demi glace

about 1/2 tsp each kosher salt and white pepper

thyme and bay leaves

And I will add the 3 T sherry. (Thanks for only using 3 T, Marlene. That means I get to drink the rest. )

I usually try to change only one thing at a time (chicken instead of beef demi glace) but the sherry just sounds too good.

[Marlene]

Go fifi! LEt us know how the new batch turns out. I probably won't make any more until we return from our road trip now.

[hillvalley]

I feel cheated. My small apartment did not smell as good as everyone else's has. Infact, until I took off the lid 18 hours or after it went in to the oven, I could barely smell anything!

[hwilson41]

I am starting yet another batch.

6 big white onions

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup EVOO

1/2 cup chicken demi glace

about 1/2 tsp each kosher salt and white pepper

thyme and bay leaves

And I will add the 3 T sherry. (Thanks for only using 3 T, Marlene. That means I get to drink the rest.   )

I usually try to change only one thing at a time (chicken instead of beef demi glace) but the sherry just sounds too good.

Fifi;

This topic is great, and onion confit is on my weekend list of things to do (along with taxes ). Two questions.

What kind of Sherry? I usually use Amontillado for cooking (She Crab Soup and suchlike), but not sure where we're trying to go here since I haven't started yet.

Is the demi glace you refer to a true demi glace (which I don't have) or just reduced beef (or chicken) stock (which I do have)?

Thanks.

THW

[Marlene]

I didn't have any cooking sherry on hand so I actually used cream sherry

[fifi]

hillvalley... immediately call 911 and have your nose checked.

Did you use nice strong onions? Remember, sweet ones like vidalias just don't have the flavor profile. They are meant to be eaten raw. Or maybe you just have good ventilation.

[woodburner]

ok

grilled meats and onion confit.

fit's like bread and butter.

now, let's explore burgers off the grill topped with confit.

I enjoy cheeeeseburgers.

How should the confit lay?

Atop the cheese?

Underneath?

and especially, what kind of cheese?

woodburner

[balmagowry]

ok

grilled meats and onion confit.

fit's like bread and butter.

now, let's explore burgers off the grill topped with confit.

I enjoy cheeeeseburgers.

How should the confit lay?

Atop the cheese?

Underneath?

and especially, what kind of cheese?

woodburner

Oh damn, I'm drooling again. I think it depends on where you want the marriage of flavors to happen most intensely. I have a feeling that putting the confit under the cheese will make for a marvelously-modulated meeting (where the hell did all this alliteration come from?) between confit and meat juices when you actually start to bite into the thing. As for what kind of cheese - I've always preferred a good cheddar for burger purposes, but I can't swear that will still be the right choice when the confit comes into play. But on reflection I don't see why not. I bet the smooth sweetness of the confit and the clean sharpness of the cheddar will balance each other charmingly.

Hmmmmm. My great indulgence in this regard is usually a big rare juicy burger with good cheddar and plenty of bacon (thread convergence! comfort foods and PMS cravings!), and there of course the bacon generally goes on top of the cheese, though with bacon it probably doesn't matter quite as much. What about mushrooms? Those usually go on top of cheese, no? But I bet they'd be very interesting underneath for the same reasons suggested above - mushrooms (or confit) held in place and snugly sealed to the meat surface by that blanket of cheese. Of course, you have to do a lot of deliberate savoring to appreciate the subtleties of this under-vs.-over question. But I'm sure we are up to the job!

Hey, Fifi! and Marlene! I just thought of something. You said you found your confit disappointing when you made it with bacon. It suddenly occurs to me why this is right: maybe it's a premature pairing. I'd be willing to bet that the match made in heaven would be the finished confit (the appproved version, I mean, made with butter and EVOO) with bacon that has been cooked separately. IOW, maybe the salt of one and the sweetness of the other are just muddying each other if you combine them at the cooking stage; but once each of the elements is finished and perfect in itself, it seems logical that they might counterbalance each other beautifully.

Damn, it's enough to make me wish I'd gotten moving and made up some confit when I first landed on this thread, instead of just mouthing off in a vacuum. Serve me right. Well, I will set about remedying this as soon as I reasonably can - meanwhile, someone please take pity on me, try it and tell me if I'm making any sense.

Edited March 10, 2004 by balmagowry (log)

[fifi]

Hmmmm... I am thinking atop the cheese. If you put the confit between the cheese and the burger it won't hold together and will slither all around. Of course, this is an engineering approach. But I think there is a culinary reason here, too. I would want the confit next to the bread so that any excess juiciness gets absorbed into the bread.

As to the type of cheese, I am torn. I instincitvely go for a sharp cheddar. I somehow think any of the blue cheeses might overwhelm the flavors. Jack and muenster are too mild. Yeah, I will settle on sharp cheddar. I am also drawn to the natural affinity of cheddar for sweetness. Oh, how I like a good cheddar melted onto a piece of apple pie. That is one of the few deserts that will get me every time.

[fifi]

Hey, Fifi! and Marlene! I just thought of something. You said you found your confit disappointing when you made it with bacon. It suddenly occurs to me why this is right: maybe it's a premature pairing. I'd be willing to bet that the match made in heaven would be the finished confit (the appproved version, I mean, made with butter and EVOO) with bacon that has been cooked separately. IOW, maybe the salt of one and the sweetness of the other are just muddying each other if you combine them at the cooking stage; but once each of the elements is finished and perfect in itself, it seems logical that they might counterbalance each other beautifully.

By George, I think you have got it! (Where the hell do we get that saying "By George"? Is that a saying from Georgian times?)

At any rate, I think you are on the right track.

As to the construction of a burger, I stick with my analysis above.

[balmagowry]

Hmmmm... I am thinking atop the cheese. If you put the confit between the cheese and the burger it won't hold together and will slither all around. Of course, this is an engineering approach. But I think there is a culinary reason here, too. I would want the confit next to the bread so that any excess juiciness gets absorbed into the bread.

Funny, I was thinking of it sort of engineerily too when I said underneath - but then I think I was picturing the confit more as little lumps, like mushrooms, than as a smoothed layer. Now I'm torn. No, I think I still like the confit next to the meat. Otherwise you have the slippery problem in reverse. And I've never had any problem about the extra juiciness soaking into the bread! It does that anyway, I find - except for a few drops which need to fall on the plate so you can have the pleasure of wiping them up with a squashed french-fry or two.

Well, obviously we will have to try it both ways.

As to the type of cheese, I am torn. I instincitvely go for a sharp cheddar. I somehow think any of the blue cheeses might overwhelm the flavors. Jack and muenster are too mild. Yeah, I will settle on sharp cheddar. I am also drawn to the natural affinity of cheddar for sweetness.

I am always happy to agree with someone who agrees with me, but you've just presented further good reasons. I hadn't really thought about any other candidate than cheddar because I started there and was happy to stay there. But every alternative you've mentioned has indeed just confirmed the soundness of that original instinct.